Our church building may be closed, but God’s eyes are open and his ears are attentive to our prayers (2 Chronicles 7.15).

If you would like to receive these by email, please click here.

Opening

Speak these words out loud:

This is what the Sovereign Lord, the Holy One, says:
‘In repentance and rest is your salvation,
in quietness and trust is your strength.’

from Isaiah 30.15

Today’s Proverb

Read the proverb through three or four times, slowly. Pause in-between, maybe write it out by hand – savour the words, let them speak deeply to you.

Proverbs 14.25

Have you ever been summoned for jury duty? I haven’t – until a few years ago clergy were exempt, but we are now allowed to be summoned! One of the things jurors have to do is weigh up the evidence provided by witnesses: are they telling the truth, or are they lying? The accused’s life is in the hands of those witnesses…

That is an obvious example – and most probably the one Solomon was considering when he spoke this proverb.

But there’s another, deeper meaning here, because Christians are, by definition, witnesses. The early disciples were witnesses in the usual sense, telling people what they had seen and heard of Jesus. But all Christians are witnesses, because we are called to share and testify – bear witness – to the truth of God we know in Jesus, to his work in our lives, to the forgiveness he offers, to the new community (‘the church’) he is creating.

When we truly bear witness to Jesus in this way, and our listeners respond to Jesus in faith, we are literally saving lives! After all, how will they know unless they hear, and how will they hear unless those who know bear witness. And, by implication, when we lie about our faith – which includes keeping silent about it – we betray them and fail to love them.

What kind of witness are you?

Prayers

Pray for Five – pray for your five friends / family from Thy Kingdom Come.

Our daily prayer sheet includes the names of everyone for whom we have a signed church family directory form – and local parishes and senior church leaders. Today we are praying for:

Rosemary Baxter, Allan & Anne Baldwin

Father, please bless them with your peace, and a deep awareness of your presence with them, every day and in every way.

We also pray for: Couples Getting Married

Please pray for our leaders and healthcare workers, and all those working to keep us safe, well, and fed. Please pray that people would unselfishly put others before themselves.

Church Family Prayer

Come Holy Spirit,
and make us one in heart and action,
so that we can serve God faithfully:
abounding in love,
maturing in holiness,
and seeking out the lost.
Help us grow as disciples of Jesus –
in commitment, in depth, and in number –
that we may be a blessing to Amington;
to the glory and praise of God the Father.
Amen.

The Lord’s Prayer

Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name,
your kingdom come,
your will be done,
on earth as in heaven.
Give us today our daily bread.
Forgive us our sins
as we forgive those who sin against us.
Lead us not into temptation
but deliver us from evil.
For the kingdom, the power,
and the glory are yours
now and for ever.
Amen.

Closing Prayer

Unless the Lord builds the house,
the builders labour in vain.
Let us fix our eyes on Jesus
the only way to the Father.

Psalm 127.1, Hebrews 12.2 & John 14.6

May Christ our Saviour give us peace.
Amen.